Anyone living in this day and age who has an awareness of the current events and societal trends that dominate our cultural landscape can sense that we are having an increasingly difficult time showing love for our planet, and in turn one another. Whether it is a blatant act war, terrorism, self-inflicted harm, anger towards our fellow humans, or even littering and creating needless waste, we are lacking compassion and interconnectivity en masse. In response to the symptomatic nature of all of these problems, Ramstar designs would like to offer an artistic approach to healing the root causes of these societal cancers. We believe that when each individual takes steps toward inner-peace, self-directed unconditional love, and true empathy, society will too echo these effects. Then larger problems of a failing democratic process, unjust laws, and egoic perceptions will give way to a harmonious existence- an existence that is in tune with the natural world and guarantees each individual not only life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, but the freedom of individual spiritual transcendence.​

What we offer is means of conscious communication by way of an art contest. A true symbol of transmutation, the love grenade juxtaposes the contrasting ideas of wanton destruction and inspired creation to show that all things are subject to transformation and reimagination to support the peaceful evolution of the universe. The Love Grenade Stencil gives each individual the ability to participate in a network of mass transformation through artistic expression. With that said, the rules of the contest are simple:

Read the intention (at the bottom of the page) that we have set for the Love Grenade. If you resonate with what you read, move on to step 2.

Adopt and interpret the symbol by means of embellishment in any media in the most personal way possible while still maintaining the proportions and the boundaries of the symbol so it can immediately be recognized. At the top of this web page on the right hand side you will find a downloadable .pdf scaled version of the grenade complete with vector points which can be sent either to a laser plotter or any other type of cutter to create the stencils out of whatever material you would like. We are also including a .pdf of just the outline AND a printable coloring page for young and old.

​3. Email a picture of your grenade or grenades (you may enter as many times as you want) to travis@ramstardesigns.com. Feel free to include a testimonial or even just a reaction to the concept and movement to provide some insight into your experience.

We will be posting all entries and companion writings to our website (www.ramstardesigns.com), our Instagram account (@love_grenade_campaign), and our Facebook group (The Love Grenade Campaign). All posts will contain the picture and anything you would like to have as a caption. We will be using the hashtag #love_grenade on all posts associated with this contest. All entries will be peer reviewed via social media and the winner will be determined by the most “likes” tallied between Instagram and Facebook combined. We are accepting entries to the contest until Winter Solstice (December 21, 2017 at 11:11am EST). Likes will be counted one month (Jan 21, 2017) from the entry deadline to allow late entries to be considered for votes. Winners will be announced on Feb 1, 2018.

It is our highest intention that this art directed movement will inspire countless people to co-create a large web of interconnectivity and empowerment akin to activated neurons that comprise a healthy mind. This prize is greater and more impactful than anything we could possibly materially offer but we proudly offer up a few tokens of our gratitude to help motivate any and all.

INTENTION BEHIND THE LOVE GRENADE SYMBOL

​"We have it in our power to begin the world over again." -Thomas Paine

The principle difference between war and peace, segregation and equality, greed and generosity, coldness and kindness has little to do with disagreements over the location of a border, the color of a person's skin, the importance of money, or the darkness of anyone's heart. Those are all scapegoats of the same condition: Every single one of us has the potential to affect the world around us in a profound and important way, and too many of us think of ourselves as the lone hero and victim of the universe. Too many of us too often think only of how to better ourselves, even if that comes at the expense of our family, friends, neighbors and strangers. Too many of us are selfish and identify completely with the ego we've created for ourselves.

But that isn't the whole story. Millions of people around the world have woken up from this narcissistic day dream, and the numbers are going up every day. People are raising their own personal vibrations to the tune of the bliss, transcendence, illumination, ecological stewardship, creativity and love.

Wouldn't it be nice if the people who still see life as a chess game where the only option is to win or lose would open their eyes to this new dawn of the human heart? Maybe it could replace wealth and privilege with self-reliance and community. Maybe it could replace war and bigotry with cultural understanding, even curiosity and growth of knowledge. Maybe it could lead to people treating each other just a little more kindly, even on the smallest, interpersonal levels.

You may be reading this and shaking your head, saying to yourself, "That'd be great, but it's too idealistic, too impractical, too impossible."

Well guess what: We can create this new world, and the only thing that could stop us is our own cynicism about it. Every single one of you reading these words has the same potential for critical change in the world as Gandhi, Da Vinci, Nelson Mandela and Joan of Arc. Every single one of you has the power to fight for your ideals with fearless immoderation. Every single one of you has the power to raise the level of your surroundings to a state of harmony and symbiosis.

And in this struggle to manifest a world built on peace and reason, we have to reach out to the world to a very tangible and accessible way, condensing all of this idealistic ideas into one powerful symbol.

Allow us to intoduce the Love Grenade, an icon built to create explosions of beauty and inspiration across all planes of human consciousness. Where military grenades destroy lives, the Love Grenade saves lives. Where military grenades spark fear into the masses, the Love Grenade is shimmering gleam of hope to oppressed and the oppressors alike. Detonation of a military grenade creates fire and fear and fury. Detonation of the Love Grenade creates fun and friendship and freedom.

​So with all the sincerity and affinity in the world, we present to you, the Love Grenade.

-Intention authored by Michael Gustav Bowser

From the very bottom of our hearts, infinite gratitude for taking the time to read and participate in our movement. Together we stand, divided we fall.